Ever since the WWE brand split, there has been a lot of speculation about whether WWE would look to current and recently-departed TNA stars to help bolster their rosters. Reportedly, WWE and Triple H are extremely interested in signing Matt Hardy — who is doing the greatest work of his entire career with his “Broken” character — once his TNA contract is up next year. What complicates matters (or might potentially un-complicate them) is that Impact Wrestling is currently (reportedly) in dire straits and may even be on the verge of getting bought out by WWE.
And it’s also worth mentioning that Matt is on record as saying he doesn’t think Vince McMahon (or as he refers to him, “MeekMahan”) would “be able to handle” his “Broken universe.” Given that fans can barely handle it, that’s probably pretty accurate.
In a new interview with Sports Illustrated, the (currently Broken) Hardy Boyz hyped up this Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view — which may or may not go on as scheduled — and also discussed their famous rivalries, their new characters, and the elephant in the room: whether they’d return to their former employer if WWE came calling.
Jeff: “All the WWE stuff really depends on what happens between now and February with TNA. I just went out to Nashville and recorded six songs, and we’re about to open a store that sells original art work, which is going to be huge. If it feels right and good, I don’t see anything wrong with staying. When you commit to a WWE contract, you’re committing to some serious time away from home. If it were under my terms, there might be a chance, but I’m really not sure. Of course it would be nice, but what we’re doing right now is so much fun. I don’t want to go back to WWE and burn out within four or five months, and having another run as TNA world champion would feel just as good.”
Matt: “I am very content at Impact Wrestling. I don’t know if I trust that MeekMahan, or if he’ll try to stifle my broken brilliance. I’m able to live in my broken universe here at Impact Wrestling to the fullest extent, and Impact Wrestling needs me as their savior, so I’ll do everything I can to help them grow. They’ve had many setbacks in the last few years, but things are changing. I don’t have an end game. Being a celestial being, I live for the moment to fight the Great War, and that is to light the darkness. Right now, I’m able to do that at Impact Wrestling.
“Especially in the beginning, when I was a mortal vessel, we set out many goals as the Hardy Boyz. We’ve accomplished those goals many times over. We wanted to be the tag team champions of the world just once, and we’ve done that many times. Once we went off into the singles world, I noticed there is something very unique about Brother Nero. People are drawn to him, and he has intangibles and charisma that cannot be emulated or duplicated. At first, there were times when I felt, ‘I wish I got the same treatment as Brother Nero,’ but as time went on, I just wanted to be successful on my own. A career is not a sprint, it’s a long race, so whenever he held the title of the world, I was very happy for him, and I always will be. We have evolved to the point in our career, after doing this for a quarter of a century, where both of us are very happy. We both want to make the most out of whatever it is we have to work with.”
That may be the straightest answer we’re likely to get out of Broken Matt Hardy, but it sounds like they’re both pretty open to returning to the company that made them famous if the deal is amenable enough. They’ll likely want more than whatever it took to bring Shelton Benjamin and Curt Hawkins back into the fold, for instance.
Still, hold out hope that Broken Matt Hardy comes to WWE television. He deserves the largest possible audience. Everyone must behold the glory.
